Best known as the author of Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe was also an expert in maritime affairs. He put that expertise and his considerable literary talents into this book -- today the major source of information about piracy in the first quarter of the 18th century. Buccaneers ruled the seas during this golden age of maritime marauding, and Defoe's narrative abounds in tales of flamboyant sea-going outlaws and their bloody deeds: Captain Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard; Captain William Kid, whose trial and execution created a sensation throughout London and the world; Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who disguised themselves as men and sailed under the Jolly Roger with the ill-fated Captain John Rackham; and many others. This fascinating blend of fact and fiction -- incorporating Defoe's celebrated flair for journalistic detail -- has been skillfully edited by noted scholar Manuel Schonhorn, and a new Introduction provides insights into the origins and significance of this important historical w